Who was it who stated that two of probably the most fascinating issues in life are intercourse and the 18th century? Definitely for lovers of classical music it's a century of fairly extraordinary riches: starting with the late baroque joys of Bach and Handel, overseeing the rise of opera, the sonata, string quartet and symphony, witnessing all the classical motion, and ending with a bang with Beethoven.
Born smack in the midst of that century, in 1756, was one of the vital intriguing and mysterious of all these marvellous composers, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. A toddler genius of extraordinary powers, he lived to put in writing greater than 600 works in all of the potential genres earlier than his tragically early dying at 35. If Joseph Haydn led the march into the classical interval, it was Mozart who for us maybe most typifies it. His music’s extraordinary mix of courtly grandeur, impish humour and sheer magnificence takes our breath away. The endless circulate of melody, the full command of ambiance, character, construction, counterpoint and orchestral color take command equally of our feelings and our minds. We're on the earth of the chic.
Listening to Mozart’s music makes it appear fairly simple. A few of it certainly does have a childlike simplicity. However in truth it’s extremely tough to play nicely. The quick span of solely 50 years that the classical interval lasted (the romantic in contrast lasted 100, and the baroque 150 years) appears to demand the strictest stylistic niceties in all the repertoire. There’s a self-consciousness concerning the music that outcomes from a heady set of conflicts: late aristocratic society versus the Enlightenment; a model new standard music versus its late baroque father or mother; the composer as servant (Haydn wore a lightweight blue uniform for 30 years) versus the self-employed genius (Mozart in Vienna within the late years).
I’ve tried to play Mozart nicely for 60 years now. Once I began I had little clue. How briskly ought to it go? (There aren't any metronome marks as in Beethoven.) What sort of sound? What be aware lengths have been implied by the varied editions? However by 1970, fortunately for my era, assist was at hand. Within the nicely developed early music motion we have been already utilizing unique devices and modern sources to rework our understanding of the baroque. After having fun with the fruits of that revolution for a number of years, enjoying Bach and Handel in a approach that lastly made sense, it appeared apparent to me that the identical form of proof may equally be used to discover the classical interval that adopted. Like lots of my violinist pals I dusted off my unread copy of Leopold Mozart’s Violin Treatise (printed within the yr of his son Wolfgang’s start) and located: gold mud. Right here was an in depth account of how Mozart had been taught the violin, and of music generally.
We discovered that there have been a lot of different modern sources to discover, and there have been now all these excited younger gamers with the interval devices of Mozart’s time of their arms. We may begin to experiment, to observe the traditions of the 18th century as an alternative of these of the uninformed and maybe unsuitable twentieth. The outcomes have been startling. If we performed with historic proof the music sounded no more historical, however newer, more energizing, extra pleasant. I made a decision to reexamine each single side of Mozart’s efficiency observe.
To start out with, utilizing interval devices appeared essential. They modified one’s mindset, and taught us all issues about sound and elegance. Lighter bows made for extra adventurous, differentiated, articulations. A candy, non-vibrato sound was pure to them; as an alternative of recent wobble, gesture turned extra central. The woodwind devices have been clearly extra totally different from one another, the horns lighter, the trumpets extra sensible, the timpani extra incisive. Within the small measurement of Salzburg or Vienna court docket orchestras, with the 2 teams of violins sitting (or standing) reverse one another, the stability between all of the devices was fascinating.
However in time I realised that every little thing we realized from interval devices may in truth fairly practicably be transferred to so-called fashionable devices. It was the mind that wanted rewiring, not simply the strings.
The essential issue was at all times tempo – the pace of the music. 2 hundred years is a very long time in the past. The language, and the intention of music, adjustments as society adjustments. Fashionable audiences sit again and chill out: 18th-century audiences preferred to rise up and dance. So though there may be loads of quick music in Mozart, rigorously regulated by his tempo markings (allegro molto, that means very quick, or allegro moderato, that means reasonably fast, and the like) there may be little or no actually gradual music. Andante doesn’t imply gradual, however “onward shifting”. Adagio – as in Mozart’s day – nonetheless means “simple”, not gradual. Lento does imply gradual, however the phrase doesn’t seem in any motion of any Mozart symphony or concerto.
I've recorded fairly a number of Mozart symphonies, concertos and operas over time, however not the 5 wonderful violin concertos. So when Francesca Dego requested me if we may make two CDs of them I leapt on the alternative. Right here was an excellent younger virtuoso who truly wished to tackle board all of the historic enjoying type that I had been researching for therefore lengthy.
For a daily live performance efficiency a conductor typically meets a soloist briefly after which accompanies her (or him) in a short lived partnership. However for our recording mission we may spend many hours getting ready, reimagining sound, speeds, phrasing and ornament in nice element. Francesca absorbed each single factor I urged, and made it totally her personal. In flip I used to be thrilled together with her playful mastery, the freshness and youthfulness of her strategy.
Searching for an orchestra that would match this enjoying type, we have been very fortunate to seek out the Royal Scottish Nationwide Orchestra. I wished solely a small group of 24 gamers: the dimensions of Mozart’s band in Salzburg. The strings would sit tightly collectively within the centre, and the wind and brass stand in a circle round them.
We couldn’t have discovered higher companions. All stylistic particulars have been pursued: bowing; be aware size; staccato and alla corda; light trills beginning on an extended higher be aware; pressing and chic phrasing; and vivid tempi. These two CDs will likely be the final I shall make, after a number of hundred in so many different genres. I couldn’t be extra proud of them. The elegant bravura of Mozart’s galant type makes it extraordinarily demanding to play completely. This time I really feel we got here close to to my perfect.
Francesca Dego, Sir Roger Norrington and the Royal Scottish Nationwide Orchestra’s new recording, Mozart: Violin Concertos, Vol. 2, is out this week on Chandos.
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